Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to Senator Carr for the question. The issue with the timing on the proposal is that it has been being worked on by the government for over eight months. The funding for this proposal was actually in the supplementary budget portfolio statement of September 2005, and it has been subject to a competitive grants process that started last year. After eight months of working on the government’s comprehensive and far-reaching broadband plan, which is going to ensure that all Australians, regardless of where they live, will be able to access fast broadband, it was able to be announced by the Prime Minister and by me yesterday.

We do not go in for knee-jerk reactions; we go in for detailed policy work that involves proper costings, proper coverage maps and proper technical detail to support the policy that we roll out. I repeat my challenge to the Labor Party, which they should get around to, because I am going to keep asking them: releasing maps—